The Heir Apparent
Chapter 44: Decider 3, Crowned in Cold

Kurosaki Isshin paced inside the confines of the ancient Shiba manor's garden. He had been doing so ever since that bastard Kyoraku had trapped him in there, along with all the Judicial members and special guests. There probably wasn't a blade of grass he hadn't stepped on yet.

Damn the man, trapping him inside this place. He'd taken out his initial frustration on the overgrowth, transforming the garden back into a work of art in record time. He'd left the inside though; the others needed something to keep them occupied, and a place to escape his anger. With his face like thunder even his daughters didn't dare approach. Besides, he was allergic to copious amounts of dust.

His own son! And his future daughter in law! How could they have agreed to this? That was what he couldn't understand. Even if he was the soon to be Spirit-King, surely they knew that leaving behind even one captain-class fighter could tip the balance. He could beat that Marx guy while Ikkaku certainly could not, not on his own. The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. Yet he couldn't crush the growing sense of despair inside his heart. The door to the manor would finally be opened, he was sure, by the victorious Rache using his son's stolen blade.

Isshin was walking past an archway that appeared to be carved from a single stone, when the two Shiba insignia on either side began to glow. He stared at it, then took a double take. It was glowing crimson! This was, without doubt, the old Shiba Senkaimon gate. But no gate that he'd seen in all his years ever had a red glow, and none had ever given him anything like this sense of dread. Where was it coming from? Immediately he took a fighting stance, with his hands on his hilt and sheath. He opened his mouth to call for backup, then closed it. Who could he call?

An instant later the space inside the gate was filled with scarlet light, and then six people leapt out. Just as suddenly as it had lit up, the gateway extinguished, the sigils' light fading last.

Blinking quickly to recover his sight, Isshin took in the newcomers. All had undoubtedly been fighting recently, they were injured to varying degrees and their clothing was burned. The two in front were evidently Arrancar, they had pieces of hollow masks on their face; the girl a ram's skull worn like a helmet, the man a sharp toothed jaw on the side of his face. The other four were familiar though.

'Well, here we are,' said Urahara.

'Finally,' said Yoruichi, 'I don't know if I could have taken another minute in there.'

'What are you talking about, you were holding them off fine.' said Renji. He was, Isshin noticed, the least beat up of them all.

'I know, but all that heat! My beautiful skin will go so dark.'

'It already is,' Renji muttered, then yelped as she grabbed his ponytail and pulled.

'What was that, pineapple head?' she said, a sadistic leer on her face.

'I take it back, I take it back!'

'Sheesh, these Shinigami must be crazy,' said the blue-haired Arrancar.*

'They fight well, though,' said the green haired girl.

'Still crazy.'

'They're just bored now that the fighting s over,' said Ishida Ryuuken. 'It's their way of compensating. Oh, hello Kurosaki, what are you doing here? Decided that defending the weak is all you're good for?'

Isshin, who'd been watching the exchange in amazement, took a mental slap realising that he was now being spoken to and insulted. 'Ishida, you bast... What the hell're you doing here. And all that red light, where the hell did you come from?'

To his surprise, all of them burst out laughing, even the normally composed Ryuuken had a chuckle. 'Hell, ha, the hell we came from,' guffawed Renji, 'The hell indeed.'

Isshin tried to get a word in, but was drowned out. What had he said that was so funny?

'Did you ever think of a career in standup comedy, Kurosaki-san?' said Urahara when he was coherent.

'That's Kurosaki-ousama to you,' he muttered.

'Whew, I needed a good laugh after that,' said Yoruichi, wiping the tears away from her eyes.

'So what exactly was so funny?'

'We'll tell you on the way,' said Urahara, 'I'm a little surprised to find you here, I'm surprised to find anybody here, but I can guess what happened. How bad is it?'

'Very,' said Isshin grimly, 'Only my son and Kyoraku,' he grated on the name, 'are left of the captains. And the enemy still have four captain-class fighters.'

'I take it they're fighting right now if they left you stuck in here. Okeey then, no time to waste. You can come with us if you want.'

'I hate to break it to you, but we're all trapped in here. Only a Shiba, or a Shiba in a previous life, can open the gate.'

'Only a Shiba's sword,' said the twelfth division captain, raising two fingers that between them held a cut section of a metal blade. 'I saved this from your son's training to regain his powers for research purposes, looks like it's going to prove useful, ne?'

x

'You're bluffing, that's not a Bankai,' scoffed Khaan. 'They're all either a massive power or effect, except for your captain-lover's. All you've done is made the air colder.'

Rukia did not reply, nor even smile. But the smile was implied as she released a shockwave, not incomparable to one that would be given off by a nuclear explosion. Cocooning himself in as much power as he could instantly draw, Khaan dug his heels in and just managed to keep his footing as freezing winds exceeding gale force struck him. When it passed and he could see again, he found that his entire front was crusted with ice, except for his weapon. That was impossible, no cold should be able to touch him, not with the heat he generated.

The top of the towers hadn't fared better, all the battlements close to Rukia had been blasted off and the rest had taken extensive damage. They were now standing on a flat surface of ice, save for his shadow, and when Khaan moved his weapon close to it; it melted into vapour. She had frozen the very air!

'I didn't hear you the last time, say that again,' said Rukia smugly.

'Your... your power,' Khaan stammered, an old memory coming back to him of another, far weaker but similar blast of cold.

'Yes, that's my power. And that's just the beginning.'

'Did I, a hundred years ago... Did we meet?''

'I think I'd remember meeting someone like you,' Rukia scoffed.

'I suppose,' he said, though in his heart he was certain. But it didn't matter either way, what did was that he won this battle and destroyed her. 'Such a terrible waste,' he muttered, thinking of what she could have been. Her power plus Quincy abilities, she could have even come close to challenging his. Of course, she never would have been his equal.

Still, she was strong, she could use her ice abilities even now. Come to think of it, how was she doing that? He had long since evaporated all the moisture in the air. Her powers should be useless, just like his last opponents had been.

'I am not Captain Hitsugaya,' she said when he asked as much. 'You fool, haven't you realized by now that my sword isn't a true ice/snow type. It's the only pure cold zanpakutou in all of Soul Society.'

And that would change the very nature of her abilities, he realized. Ice/snow types drew moisture in like a magnet and froze it, instantly creating deadly ice. That was how Marx had explained it. How then would hers work? It did seem to take a moment longer for her abilities, probably because of the much greater freezing temperature of air. That should make all her abilities slower, but would it make them more dangerous too? Just thinking about it was making his head hurt.

'Don't think just because you've got some new ability that you can defeat the likes of me,' he snarled angrily, 'It's time for me to show the full extent of my powers. Explodieren, Höllenwut.'

The bonfire above Rukia's head exploded, though the three tactical flames remained, sending tongues of fire in all directions. Blazing bonfires formed wherever they landed. Rukia lost count of how many almost immediately, but there must have been in the region of fifty. The air heated until it was scorching, and out of the corner of his eye Khaan saw one of his frozen comerades catch on fire. Bad luck on his soul.

'Creating cold is more difficult than creating heat,' said Khaan, indicating to the icy floor that had already all but melted. Absently he sent shafts from his weapon to create even more bonfires. If she put them out, he'd just create more.

Then he threw his butterfly axe-head, but it didn't come straight at Rukia. Instead it flew into the nearest bonfire, and changed course from there to go to the next. Only it came out flying faster and with a small tongue of flame attached. In less than a second it had bounced through seven more, each time speeding up and growing its fireball, then it shot straight at her.

'Fourth dance, Byatake,' she cried.

This time the impact ripped straight through her shield, and since it came through the sun-fire first it gave off a blinding flash as well as a massive; fiery explosion. Fortunately the shield caught most of the blast, and reflected a lot of the light, but Rukia still had to block the weapon at full force. It drove her back to the edge of the battlements, some twenty meters, and through three of the bonfires. Rukia cried out in pain, and as soon as she was able to halt had to put out a fire on her sleeve.

'You survived the first hit, well done,' said Khaan dryly, 'You've already come further than Hitsugaya ever did against me. But this is the end. It's obvious that your Bankai is immature. My Fusion has the most power of any in the Prima Kreis, and its being unfocused renders your abilities useless.' Then he smiled fiercely, 'You're finished, Kuchiki Rukia.'

Despite the heat, Rukia gave an involuntary shiver.

x

Ichigo faced Takumo, keeping his eyes coldly on him as he placed a hand in front of his face.

'I've been looking forward to this,' said Takumo, his eyes shining.

'That's my line,' said Ichigo, drawing hollow power between his fingers. The mask immediately began to form.

'Oy, King.'

'What?' he sent the irritated thought back at his inner hollow.

'Don't wanna distract you, but something's off.'

'He's right, Ichigo,' Zangetsu added, 'Your enemy is absorbing a part of your power, and it's changing his.'

'He's a Quincy,' he thought exasperatedly, 'was. It's what they do.' He shut them out just as he felt the familiar burst of power that came with his mask's completion.

'That's scary,' said Takumo, though he didn't look afraid at all. 'Show me what you've got.'

'With pleasure,' said Ichigo, his voice grating.

He flash-stepped forward, his sword lancing at his enemy's legs. It struck his opponent's weapon with a force that would shatter a good sized city. His follow up attacks came quick and fast and deadly. And yet Takumo caught them all, and with three quick stabs was onto the offensive. How had he done that?

Now that he was looking closely, the thin sheen of energy around his opponent's tri-pronged spear seemed different to when it had first formed. Was it... sharper? He wasn't too good at sensing these things, but the difference was a marked one.

Block, evade, double-feint, stab. Now Ichigo was forced to back away as fast as he could, with Takumo in hot pursuit. 'Getsuga Tenshou,' he cried, and fired a roiling black wave.

Takumo sliced through it without pause. 'You'll have to do better than that,' he cried.

How the hell was he so strong?

Ichigo knew that his greatest power in Bankai form was his speed and precision. But Takumo's air-manipulating ability made swimming through syrup look like an easy activity. More than that, now it seemed to be bolstering his opponent's speed as well. Cuts were forming on his body from blows that did not hit him, their air pressure did though. They were not substantial, but each leeched his strength a fraction, and the effect was cumulative.

'King!'

'I'm busy,' he thought back.

'He's reacting to me!'

Could it be? Ichigo retreated back twenty meters and wiped his fingers across his mask, making it dissipate. The effect was immediate. Takumo's weapon's glow became softer, less formed. The bonds of air around him became weaker. And his opponent's expression changed.

'You're a smart boy,' he said sourly.

'How did you do that?' said Ichigo. He didn't really care, but making his opponent talk would be a chance to get his wind back.

'It's simple; Quincy weapons work better against hollows than other spiritual beings. Added to that, the Bankai I acquired gave an additional advantage. The effects condensed in my Ban-fusion, to what you see now.'

'The Bankai you stole.'

'That I repossessed.'

'Fine. I'll kill you with my Bankai, as a shinigami and captain of Gotei thirteen.'

The other man laughed aloud. 'That's not possible. Bankai might be equal -just- to our Fusion powers, but not to Ban-Fusion. This is the greater weapon, your replacement.'

Ichigo had been planning on trying his Resurreccion hollow form, though he wasn't sure if that wouldn't advance his opponent's power further. But now he was determined to win as he was. 'Like hell it is,' he snarled, and swept back into the attack.

x

Bismark's fist hammered into Kyoraku's face, then his knee slammed into his groin. This followed by thumbs pushing against his eyes and finally a frustrated head butt. Kyoraku didn't bother to react; he just stood there, weapon-less.

'Do you understand now, we're immune to all attacks unless a game removes that effect. Even then, we're immortal until the games end.'

'Fine, I'll play along,' Bismark snarled, 'How does this black prison kill anyway?'

'Only once the games end, you'll see,' said Kyoraku as a drum boomed loudly, 'It's beginning.'

Around them thirteen figures started coming into view out of the absolute darkness. It was as though they'd been covered in invisible paint that was now being dissolved by acid. Each one of them was different, horrifying in its own unique way. The only similarity they had was that each was holding some type of curved sword. One sat on a jewelled golden throne, and was garbed in intricately designed golden robes. It had three faces and many arms, some of its elbows had more than one arm coming out of them. Its features were neither distinctly masculine nor feminine, and its skin was a poisonous shade of blue. On its head was a spiny crown.

'You have entered the sacred realm of games,' said the three heads together in different tones, 'We shall now test you, death awaits the loser.'

'Who is that?' said Bismark, looking around wildly.

'That is Onikami, the lord of this realm,' said Kyoraku.

'Wait, isn't this your power, shouldn't you be the one in charge here?'

'In case you haven't noticed, I don't have much control of my abilities. I activate them, and then I have to play to their rules.'

'SILENCE,' said Onikami, 'Gamer, do you wish for my test?'

'No, not yet,' said Kyoraku.

'Then, Other, choose the first game.' There was silence for a moment, then the three-faced demon god said again, 'Other, choose.'

'He means you, I'm Gamer and anybody I bring in becomes Other,' Kyoraku explained.

'How do I choose one?' said Bismark.

'Just point to one of the demons, they'll tell you what their game is and then it will begin.'

'You're being quite helpful. Why?'

'No reason not to be,' Kyoraku shrugged, 'It'll just take longer if I'm not.'

'I suppose you have a lot of experience at this?'

'I've done this over a hundred times, mostly on one night.'

'The night you used it to kill all my brothers,' said Bismark, his anger flaring, 'Did you do them all one by one, eh?'

'No, my Bankai cloned me as many times as I had opponents. I gained the memories for all the battles after I was done. If I had lost a single one, I would have died too. By the way, that was the same night that you killed my wife.'

'What is one life against a whole race exterminated?' said Bismark.

'What is the life of the person you love against the lives of thousands you don't know?' Kyoraku countered.

'CHOOSE,' said Onikami.

'FINE,' Bismark roared, and pointed to a monkey-faced demon who held a long staff as well as a scimitar, 'YOU!'

x

'Almost time,' said Marx, 'It's almost time.'

'Almost time for what?' said Ikkaku, struggling against his bonds and causing fresh blood to leak out.

'You'll see soon,' he smirked, 'these things shouldn't be rushed. However, I really should start pre-activation sequence now.' He took his Quincy cross between his fingers and focused his power into it. 'Begin activation sequence one, Authorization Marx Beta three.'

A bright spark of energy burst from Marx's cross into the ground, and shot off in five different pentagonal directions. Seconds later, Ikkaku felt the ground shake slightly. Not enough that anybody concentrating on fighting would notice, but something had been done. And knowing Marx, something insidious.

'What the hell did you do?' he said.

'Simply started things,' said Marx. 'This whole fortress was built to destroy you shinigami, the first stage simply seals the area. From now on, no one is getting in or out. Actually I got my inspiration from your Seireitei's walls.'

'Then this place is to be a death-trap. Well, it won't work if we kill you all first.'

'Ah, but this is only the first stage. It's the next few that make things really interesting.'

x

* Since shinigami=death god this is a reference to the classic African movie 'The gods must be crazy'.

A/N: Would you believe that I've been sitting on parts of this for a year? Sheesh, what a relief to finally finish it, it's been bugging me like ants in my pants.

We're almost done here, I predict another 2-3 parts before the end, and possibly 1 more as an epilogue. I had originally been planning a sequel, with Urahara's intrusion into hell allowing a way for the demons to escape. But after the 4th bleach movie, which I thought was as lame as the 2nd, that has gone out the window. Out of all the bleach movies, I only liked the 1st.

On the subject of the manga, which I am aware now bears some resemblance to my story. I really wish that Kubo had taken me on as a consultant for his current plot (or lack thereof). I could really have used the cash (lol). Seriously though, he seems to have forgotten that while battles boost current ratings, storyline gives lasting appeal; and popularity. Take for example the team that created Death Note, and more recently Bakuman. As in the aforementioned manga, one does art and the other story. That's how important it is.

These new Quincys (Quincies?) we know nothing about. Sure they're powerful, but we have absolutely no reason to care about them in any sense. Okay, they're supposed to be human, but how did they live so long? How did they get this new power? What is their goal after destroying Soul Society? How did they they survive the extermination? What role did the older captains play in it? Why did they wait so long before attacking? Where were they hiding?

Ironically, I've also noticed some ideas in the manga I actually discarded. Why? Because they're lame. The name of these new Quincys is the Vandenreich. I specifically avoided naming my Quincys any form of 'Reich' because it immediately forces a comparison to the Third Reich (Hitler's Nazi Germany). Also, the Bankai sealing was an idea I played with, since to have an enemy capable of fighting shinigami captains you first have to make them either strong enough, or weaken said shinigami. Ultimately I discarded it, as I felt it would cheapen the story. And Kubo uses both ideas? Wow. Am I the only one who thinks he's just going through the motions?

One good thing has happened though, A CHARACTER HAS DIED! Admittingly, calling the lieutenant of the 1st a character is a bit of a stretch, considering that he only has about 3 lines throughout the manga. But it does create some slight tension in the story.

Well, that's enough of a rant from me. Kubo's work is Kubo's work (though it has been impacting my motivation), so lets just leave it at that. Until next time, KotW out.